Additive construction may be implemented on worksites to create a structure based on a computer-implemented additive construction plan, which may be used to control a machine and/or an associated implement, to construct said structure. In some examples, utilizing work machines such as, but not limited to, excavators, tele-handlers, and gantry machines, such work machines may be used to control additive construction implements, in order to perform additive construction.
For controlling additive construction implements and their associated machines, various control systems are utilized to manually, autonomously, or semi-autonomously control movement of the machine and work implement in the X, Y, and Z directions, based, at least in part, on additive construction planning. For example, control systems for machines and implements can control orientation of the additive construction implement, such as, but not limited to, a roll, a pitch, and/or a yaw of the implement. Such control systems may utilize a controller to receive instructions from various sources (e.g., user controls, a memory, a remote control, etc.) and determine controls to execute via the control system. The control systems send signals to elements associated with the controller, such as motors or actuators, to position the additive construction implement in accordance with the determined controls.
In some control systems, a structure of the machine may be utilized by and actuated by the control system to control the position of the additive construction implement. These systems may use one or more actuators to control movement of the machine and/or implement while positioning the additive construction implement. However, control via such machine-associated components may not provide the desired control accuracy for additive construction implements and/or such components may not be configured or configurable for use in accordance with additive construction planning.
Some modern implement control systems, such as the control systems disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 8,644,964 (“Method and System for Controlling Movement of an End Effector on a Machine”), may employ control schemes that transmit signals movement of a machine to moving elements of the control system (e.g., control of a crane of an excavator) and transmit signals for movement of the machine to other elements of the control system that are more directly associated with the implement, in accordance with an implement control plan. However, such signals do not provide instructions for specific positioning of the machine, relative to a worksite, for optimizing additive construction operations.
Accordingly, such prior known control systems and methods both do not provide for suitable accuracy for control, nor do they account for optimization of machine placement, prior to or during additive construction operations. Therefore, control systems and methods for positioning a machine and/or an associated additive construction implement, prior to or during an additive construction operation, are desired.